Comic Movie Casting Decisions That Brought On The Worst Nerd Rage Ever
Don’t ever piss off a bunch of comics fans
If ever there was a subculture near impossible to please, comics fanboys are it. They know every origin story, limited-series run and guest artist. And you can bet your ass they have a particular vision of who should star in whatever superhero movie Hollywood produces next week. Granted, not every casting decision is the right one. Just look at January Jones in X-Men: First Class. Or Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3. Or literally everyone in Batman and Robin. But, sometimes, the level of fanboy anger aimed at comic movie casting is just plain unwarranted. And in cases where an actor simply doesn’t look like the character they’re playing, it’s stupid. So here are the casting decisions that have set off the worst cases of collective nerd-rage.Keanu Reeves (Constantine)
Over the years, Keanu Reeves has proven himself to be a worthy undercover FBI agent, a cop with superior bomb expertise, and “The One.” But when he was announced as the title character in 2005’s Constantine, fans of the Hellblazer comic the film was based on were sure he was anything but the right one. Maybe it’s the fact that he looks completely opposite the character. Or that he isn’t at all British and could never pretend to be. Or maybe no one could actually picture the same guy who played Ted as a world-renowned magician and exorcist.
Zendaya (Mary Jane)
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Diehard Spider-Man fans had a lot to complain about when 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming was first announced.
Why did we need another Spider-Man movie? Who the hell is this Tom Holland kid? Couldn’t we have a Miles Morales film instead? But the biggest complaint came when it was rumored Disney star Zendaya would be taking on the role of Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker’s great love interest.
Because, you know, she’s not a redhead, or whatever.
Zazie Beetz (Domino)
For as many comic book character adaptations as we’ve seen over the years, fanboys really have a hard time letting go of one particular version once it’s been made popular. As if the pages it’s drawn upon are set in stone.
And if a casting choice involves a race change, you can bet your ass there’s going to be serious backlash. Joke’s on the haters this time, though: Beetz wound up being the very best thing about the Deadpool sequel.
Chris Evans (Captain America)
To be fair, at the time Evans was cast as Captain America, he wasn’t exactly killing it in the role department. Remember when he played Johnny Storm in 2005’s Fantastic Four? How about his acclaimed work as “Harvard Hottie” in 2007’s The Nanny Diaries?
We can see where the hesitation came from, is what we’re saying here.